The Most Important 5 Minutes of Your Day

One of the tools I use with my clients is called the 24 Hour Plan.

It gets our minds in the habit of making decisions ahead of time regarding what we plan to eat.

It’s not overwhelming, it’s just one day at a time.

It’s also not drastically different than what we did yesterday, but better.

It shouldn’t take much more than 5 minutes, because it’s similar to what we’ve already been doing, but with small improvements.

Having a plan, whether on paper, or just digitally on your phone, gets us into the practice of setting an intention for the day.

We get a chance to think in advance about the different decisions we could make, and by not waiting until we are rushed, hungry, or tired, we are actually using a different part of our brain to make decisions that affect our health and well being, one that is better at thinking through consequences, instead of using the part of the brain that prefers immediate gratification.

Practicing honoring the plan and overcoming the desire to change your mind is a skill that is strengthened with repetition.

Some days will go well, and some days won’t, but the 5 minutes each day I spend to plan my food ahead of time, is the most important thing I can do to set myself up for success each day.

And even if things don’t go as planned, there is value in reflecting on the decisions you made in the moment, and understanding why. Noticing our patterns raises our awareness, which is the first step to changing our habits.

Give it a try and see if 5 minutes can make a difference for you.

How to Enjoy the Holidays and Still Lose Weight

If you are trying to eat healthier and lose a few pounds, you might approach the holidays with a slight sense of dread.

You might be worried that from Thanksgiving to New Year’s, there will be many more temptations to pull you off course, and you may be faced with gaining a few extra pounds.

If this is a concern to you, I would offer you this. Overindulging doesn’t happen TO you.

If we choose to experience the holiday season as if those temptations have control over us, as opposed to us having control over them, you might very well end up regretting some of the decisions you make.

But if we remind ourselves that food and parties don’t have the power to cause us to overeat, and that our power resides firmly in our choices, we don’t have to feel powerless in these environments.

I would encourage you to ask yourself, what foods and beverages do I love to enjoy during the holiday season, and how can I plan ahead for them?

What events do I plan to attend and what will my strategy be to avoid overindulging?

What decisions can I make ahead of time that I can feel good about that will give me a greater sense of control, like not arriving to the party starving, or deciding on the number or portion size of desserts ahead of time.

The only thing that can potentially harm you is the belief that it’s out of your control.

And you may even decide ahead of time that there are certain events that you choose not to closely monitor your choices, again, it’s a choice that YOU get to make.

Holidays are special and should be enjoyed. You are what you do MOST of the time, so remember that a few events don’t define whether you succeed or fail at your goal.

As long as we don’t buy in to the belief that there is no use trying to eat healthy during the holidays because it’s just too hard, you may be surprised at what you can accomplish.

Who knows, when we decide to keep our eye on the ball during this season, we might even drop a few pounds.

Remember, You Don’t Have To

In just about any situation where I feel pressure, I like to remind myself that I don’t HAVE to do anything.

If I put pressure on myself to reach a certain number on the scale, I remind myself:

I don’t have to eat better.

I don’t have to be healthier.

I don’t have to exercise.

I don’t have to stop eating so many sweets.

I WANT to.

I want to experience all the benefits of making healthier choices.

I want to have more energy.

I want to sleep better.

I want to fuel my body with foods that make me feel fantastic and sharper mentally.

I know that I am (and YOU are) 100% worthy and valuable no matter what we choose (and our family and true friends will love us just the same).

But right now, I choose healthy.

Then the pressure melts away, and a different energy drives me, one that propels me.

One that allows me to own my choices.

Feeling propelled is much more fun than feeling pressured.

Let’s own our choices today.

What is Your Why?

Two journals with two pencils

It’s important to stay in tune with your “why.”

You may also hear me ask you what your compelling reason is.

Truth is, since we don’t HAVE to do anything, having a go-to reason to get healthier will help remind us why we are making changes to our everyday eating habits when we are tempted to veer off course.

I want you to be able to recall this reason quickly and succinctly.

The more compelling it is, the better.

Memorize it and practice thinking it every day.

You may even want to post it around your house, office, in your car, or on your phone, as a reminder.

We often say that we should do this or that.

Should is not strong enough, my friend.

When we say that we should eat healthier, there is an unspoken other half of that sentence that says “but I don’t have to today.”

Let’s choose to start today.

Karen

p.s. No matter what I have chosen before, I can choose to make a healthier choice at my very next meal.

Why Use a Weight Loss Coach?

A woman driving car with hand out sunroof

If you have struggled to lose weight on your own in the past, or you lost the weight but had trouble keeping it off, a weight loss coach can help.

A coach can help you get from point A to point B faster.

It’s like you can literally buy time.

It’s also like the old saying, ‘two heads are better than one.’

How many times have our good intentions to make positive changes gone by the wayside because of other priorities and losing energy around reaching our goals?

We get busy, we get distracted, and we tell ourselves we will start again, next week, or next month, you know, when things settle down.

What if you had someone dedicated to helping you develop a reasonable plan based on your unique set of challenges?

Someone that would hold you accountable and help you stay focused even while in the midst of the other demands on your time.

Don’t forget that YOU are a priority in your busy life as well.

Don’t believe that weight loss has to be complicated, it can actually be simple.

You just have to develop a solid plan and stick with it.

No quick fixes or gimmicks, just a sustainable plan.

A coach can help you see your blind spots and ride shotgun with you on your journey.

You are the driver, I just help you navigate.

A journey is so much more fun with a friend, want to see where this one takes you?

What I Mean By Simple Weight Loss

A complicated math problem with equations and variables verses a simple one.

There are a ton of different ways to maintain a healthy weight.

There isn’t one right way.

If you have found your way, by all means, stick with it.

What I have found in my own experience is that some ways are more complicated than others, some are more time consuming than others.

What I hate to see is when people believe there isn’t a way for them to lose weight.

They believe there is something wrong with them. Or, they have a long list of reasons why it doesn’t or won’t work for them, maybe because they are too busy and have too much on their plate.

What if it didn’t have to be so complicated?

What if it didn’t require long hours at the gym?

What if you could target your worst habits first, reduce emotional eating, and use the time you used to spend trying to lose weight to enjoy your life instead?

What if you could improve your eating habits so that exercise was just something you looked forward to doing when it fit into your schedule, that felt good to do because it’s so good for your body, instead of something you feel pressured to do a certain number of times per week, or else your clothes won’t fit.

What I would like to offer you is a simple way to get results that fits into your busy schedule.

What if Now is the Perfect Time to Start?

Computer screen with the words Just Start.

They say the first step is always the hardest.

When we decide to pursue a goal that we believe will be challenging or scary, we often experience discomfort and decide to revert back to where we feel safe.

Living on default is easier, because it is familiar and requires less effort.

The truth is, we often want things to get better, but we would also like things to stay the same.

We can’t have both.

We imagine there will be a perfect time to start, when it feels right, so we keep putting it off.

What if it’s never going to feel like the right time? What if you just have to decide to start?

What if right now is the perfect time to get a handle on those sugar cravings or eating habits that you would like to change?

What if now is the perfect time to work with a coach so you don’t have to go it alone?

Stop feeling so exhausted by the thing you keep putting off.

What if now is actually the perfect time to start?